Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing – File photo
BINTULU (June 20): The health authorities must speed up the vaccination process for Sarawakians in hard-to-reach inland but high-risk areas using more flexible solutions, said Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said in reaching out to the people, especially those living outside the urban areas, it is clear that many face daily inconveniences, such as fewer transport options, lower internet coverage and lack of access to get updates on the pandemic prevention efforts.
“Therefore I call on the Bintulu Division Disaster Management Committee (BDDMC) and the Health Department to take these factors into consideration when handling the vaccination process.
“We need to be more flexible in helping the less fortunate people and perhaps roll out mobile vaccination centres,” he said.
Tiong said as mentioned by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg during his visit to Bintulu recently, the health authorities should adopt the ‘vaccine first, register later’ model to prioritise vaccinating people living far inland and in high-risk zones and achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.
He said the Health Department and BDDMC must develop a more efficient vaccination process that is suitable for the unique conditions in Bintulu, taking into account its widely spread-out population and the distances involved.
“There should also be a vaccination programme launched for each cluster of villages and residential areas, instead of using the MySejahtera app as a passive one-size fits-all solution.
“Otherwise it would just be curing the symptoms and not addressing the causes of infections,” added Tiong.
He pointed out that the authorities cannot ignore the situations faced by the ethnic groups from the high-risk zones and their immediate immunisation must be made a priority.
He added keeping them on an indefinite wait list on the MySejahtera app will be counterproductive to reducing the risk of more infections.
Tiong said he had visited Arena Petanque Jepak and Kidurong Anglican multi-purpose hall to look for more suitable places to be turned into vaccination centres and increase the rate of vaccinations for the high-risk communities among the residents in Kampung Jepak, RPR Kidurong and Sungai Plan.